Wall Street Zen Upgrades Snap (NYSE:SNAP) to "Buy"

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Snap from “hold” to “buy”, adding to a mixed but generally cautious analyst backdrop. The stock still carries an average Hold rating and a consensus price target of $7.91.
• Snap’s latest earnings showed revenue up 12.2% year over year to $1.53 billion, but it missed EPS expectations by posting a loss of $0.05 per share versus the expected profit. Despite the miss, the company’s adjusted performance and ad-demand trends were seen as improving.
• The stock was trading up 1.7% around $6.08, while insider selling and heavy institutional ownership remained notable. Insiders sold shares over the past 90 days, and hedge funds own about 47.5% of the stock.

Snap (NYSE:SNAP - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

SNAP has been the topic of several other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Snap from $6.00 to $7.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (e+)" rating on shares of Snap in a report on Monday, April 20th. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their target price on shares of Snap from $7.00 to $6.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Snap from $4.50 to $5.25 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane lowered shares of Snap to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $7.91.

Snap Trading Up 1.7%

NYSE:SNAP opened at $6.08 on Friday. Snap has a one year low of $3.81 and a one year high of $10.41. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $5.14 and a 200-day moving average price of $6.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -25.35 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 3.56 and a quick ratio of 3.56.

Snap (NYSE:SNAP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported ($0.05) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.09 by ($0.14). Snap had a negative net margin of 6.72% and a negative return on equity of 18.69%. The company had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.08) earnings per share. Snap's revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Snap will post -0.12 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Snap news, General Counsel Zachary M. Briers sold 11,437 shares of Snap stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.04, for a total value of $69,079.48. Following the sale, the general counsel directly owned 2,774,031 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,755,147.24. The trade was a 0.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Rebecca Morrow sold 16,499 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.70, for a total transaction of $77,545.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 466,682 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,193,405.40. The trade was a 3.41% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,565,573 shares of company stock valued at $8,059,781. Company insiders own 22.68% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Snap

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. bought a new position in Snap during the third quarter valued at approximately $176,697,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Snap by 874.3% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 10,066,852 shares of the company's stock valued at $81,239,000 after buying an additional 9,033,644 shares in the last quarter. Junto Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Snap in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,071,000. Voloridge Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Snap by 53.3% during the 3rd quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 10,300,911 shares of the company's stock worth $79,420,000 after acquiring an additional 3,582,223 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Snap by 537.9% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 4,150,134 shares of the company's stock worth $33,492,000 after acquiring an additional 3,499,578 shares in the last quarter. 47.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Snap News

Here are the key news stories impacting Snap this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 results were solid overall, with revenue rising 12% year over year to $1.53 billion and adjusted EBITDA more than doubling, helped by stronger ad demand, user growth, and subscription momentum. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts highlighted improving turnaround momentum after the earnings call, suggesting some investors still see operating leverage and engagement trends improving. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Snap continues to be viewed as an AI-enabled advertising and AR play, with recent partnerships such as Qualcomm and Experian supporting the longer-term growth narrative. Article Title

Snap Company Profile

Snap Inc is a camera and social media company best known for developing and operating Snapchat, a multimedia messaging application that allows users to send photos, videos and messages that disappear after being viewed. In addition to its core messaging service, Snap offers a suite of augmented reality (AR) tools, including custom Lenses and Filters, that enable users and third-party developers to create interactive and immersive experiences. The company also provides advertising solutions that allow brands to engage audiences through Snap Ads, Sponsored Lenses and Discover content on the platform.

Founded in 2011 by Evan Spiegel and Bobby Murphy, Snap has continually focused on innovation in camera technology and AR.

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